With more big labels snapping up smaller craft beer producers, the Brewers Association is making a move to help educate beer lovers about the origins of their beloved beverage. The not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers launched a new seal in July that’s meant to single out those businesses.

Featuring an iconic beer bottle shape flipped upside down, the seal captures the spirit with which craft brewers have upended beer while informing beer lovers they are choosing a product from a brewery that is independently owned. These breweries run their businesses free of influence from other alcohol beverage companies that are not themselves craft brewers.

Independence is a hallmark of the craft brewing industry, and it matters to the brewers who make the beer and the beer lovers who drink it. A recent study commissioned by Brewbound and conducted by Nielsen found that “independent” and “independently owned” strongly resonated with the majority (81 percent) of craft beer drinkers. Increasingly, they are looking for differentiation between what’s being produced by small and independent craft brewers versus Big Beer and acquired brands. Beer drinkers, especially millennials, expect transparency when it comes to their food and beverages. That transparency and underlying ownership can drive their purchase intent.

“Independent craft brewers continue to turn the beer industry on its head by putting community over corporation and beer before the bottom line. They continue to better beer and our country by going beyond just making the beverage. These small businesses give back to their backyard communities and support thousands of cities and towns across the U.S.,” said Bob Pease, president & CEO, Brewers Association. “As Big Beer acquires former craft brands, beer drinkers have become increasingly confused about which brewers remain independent. Beer lovers are interested in transparency when it comes to brewery ownership. This seal is a simple way to provide that clarity — now they can know what’s been brewed small and certified independent.”

The seal is available for use, free of charge, by any of the more than 5,300 small and independent American craft brewers that have a valid Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Brewer’s Notice, meet the BA’s craft brewer definition and sign a license agreement. It is available to both member and non-member breweries of the BA. In the coming weeks, months and years, beer lovers will see it on beer packaging, at retailers and in brewery communications and marketing materials.

“Craft brewers build communities and the spirit of independent ownership matters” said Rob Tod, chair of the Brewers Association board of directors and founder of Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. “When beer lovers buy independent craft beer, they are supporting American entrepreneurs and the risk takers who have long strived not just to be innovative and make truly great beer, but to also build culture and community in the process.”

While small and independent craft brewers represent 99 percent of the 5,300-plus breweries in the U.S., they make just 12 percent of the beer sold in the country. The rest of U.S. beer sales come from Big Beer along with imported brands. As large brewers continue to have unprecedented influence and acquire millions of barrels of formerly independently brewed beer, the seal differentiates in a crowded and increasingly competitive marketplace.